Wednesday, June 24, 2009

As I watched Iron Chef Michael Symon whisk together a simple aioli during his pork demo I attended in Aspen, I was thinking, what savory ingredient (besides cheese) isn't great with aioli?

I couldn’t come up with anything. Whether you're talking about meats, vegetables, starches, or breads – everything tastes great with aioli.

I've done a few versions of aioli on the site before, but never a minimalist, special equipment-free recipe like this. Of course, a true aioli is made with a mortar and pestle, but not everyone has one, and sure you can use a blender, but is there anything more annoying to clean (besides a garlic press as the Iron Chef pointed out during his demo)?

Do yourself a huge favor and take 10 minutes this week to make a little ramekin of this aioli. Then, start spreading and dipping your way up and down the food pyramid. You will discover you can turn a turkey sandwich into a [expletive deleted] great turkey sandwich, a roasted potato becomes the highlight of your day, and a carrot stick is transformed into an incredibly effective endorphin delivery system.

By the way, I'll warn you in advance that I won't spend time answering comments and questions about using raw egg yolks. I've covering that in several other posts, including my homemade mayo video recipe. If you are concerned, google the subject and you'll get millions of pages on the subject.

Rachael Ray has a better chance of winning a James Beard Chef of the Year award than you have getting sick from making this recipe. Enjoy!

@Vincent -- if you are doing this in the blender, the blades can efficiently distribute the polyphenols in the emulsion, which causes a bitter taste. Check out the technicalities here: http://summertomato.com/the-bitter-truth-about-olive-oil/ Doing the emulsion by hand prevents this from happening.

We're having a pretty decent heat wave here in the SF bay area (it's 105 degrees in Marin) and I'm having trouble emulsifying the aioli. I've been using the same method you suggested and am curious if you think the heat has something to do with it?

I put it in the fridge for an hour and will try at it again when it's cooler. Would flour or corn starch help at all?

don't think temp matters. NEVER add starch to an aioli. You would be banned from the site for life.

The only reason an aioli doesn't work is if the oil goes in too fast at the start. Yes, to be safe use a cold egg yolk, but just dip dip dip the first couple tablespoon until it starts to emulsify. Good luck!

@Cindy, I've actually come across that article before. I whisked by hand, but thank you for the resource.

@Chef John: I think I used this delicious, very green EVOO from Trader Joe's. Comes in a dark (almost black) square bottle for like five bucks. I don't think it's bitter by itself, but I could be wrong.

Anyway. I suppose this is another excuse to keep tasting different oils. Thanks for the tip!

Just as you said ~ this was a tasty addition to my cooking arsenal [can't remember how to spell the "R" word], however, you won't see me making this again. Once long ago I saw someone make mayonnaise and I declared I wouldn't do it 'cause it looked like too much work. Well, I shudda known it, 'cause Chef John makes everything he does look easy, so I went ahead with the Aioli. As I was part-way through I suddenly realized that, "Hey, I'm making a garlicky mayonnaise!" as my arm began to die!!! Now I'm the proud owner of the first and last dish of self-made Aioli! Guess I can't be a true chef. Ah, well, there's only one Chef John . . .

Oooh, ya got me there. In defense of my honor (I gots some ya know), it took me longer than it did you, I think, 'cause I couldn't do the "streaming in the olive oil" after the first few drops even with the wet towel assisting. So I pretty much added it in by "bunches" of drops as I went along. Can I get off the Wimp List now?

The recipe seems simple enough, but I had to throw out two batches before I got it right. Patience is key! I was a little too hasty with the olive oil. Anywho, super-yummy sauce for an extreme garlic lover like me. I used it in a sandwich. Sooooooooo good! Can't wait to have some with fries...

Allioli is of Catalan (Spanish) origin. The original recipe only contains garlic, olive oil and salt (egg is usually added to prevent the mix from breaking apart). It takes a lot of skill and practice to maker allioli without egg yolk.

Btw, mayonnaise, another popular sauce is also of Spanish (Menorca) origin.

How do you get around the salmonella. The USDA says uncooked eggs and poultry and beef and fish which includes anything that comes in contact with or is in the same barn with is dangerous! I handle chicken raw meat and eggs like the plague until it is cooked and overdone!

I have a question for you. You posted a recipe for a dipping sauce (can't remember the name), but it called for olive oil, butter at room temperature and I believe fresh rosemary or basil along with a few other ingredients. It is NOT the Grematola recipe. Anyway,I cannot find it on your site anywhere and I have thoroughly searched for it. PLEASE tell me where to locate it. I've tried duplicating it from memory but I'm missing too many ingredients. Thank you so much!

Last night, I tried mixing 1/4 cup of olive oil with 1/4 cup off room temperature butter and made the sauce. It turned out pretty nice. Just not that stiff like 100% oil but still very thick especially after refrigerated.Next time might be 1/2c oil and 1/2c butter.Anyone dare to try 100% butter :D I guess clarified butter would work

I live in Spain, so I got really exited when I saw this recipe 'cause o absolutely LOVE aioli. I made a batch last night and it was the right consistency (It looked just like in the video), so I refrigerated it to use it today but it somehow turned liquid!!! It had the mayo consistency when I stored it. What did I do wrong?? should I leave it to rest before placing it in the refrigerator?

Thks Chef John,I tried making aioli for the 1st time today. So happy tht it was successful...just abit thicker than the aioli in ur video. I had to add a tbs water to get the consistency like urs - is cos i whisked it too hard? ( i whisked manually by using hand whisk )

I usually like the recipes that you hype up to infinity but I wasn't digging this Aioli that much. Could I just be more of a garlic butter person? Now I did use vegetable oil rather than olive oil (ran out), could that have ruined it?

Thanks so much for this recipe chef, it's a hit! Mine turned out tasting great with both single and triple recipes, but the consistency was more like motor oil than the mayonnaise that you whipped up there. The only thing I did differently was that I used a smaller mixing bowl, could that be the reason?

Hi, i saw a garlic aioli recipe on about.com american (link is http://americanfood.about.com/od/saucesdipsanddressings/r/Garlic_Mayo.htm) food which was written by you which uses store bought mayonnaise. I guess it would be easier if i had no time but in terms of taste which is better? Also would 3 cloves of garlic have a more intense flavour if using store bought mayonnaise? My parents love garlic bread so i thought i'll try a diff twist for a garlic bread recipe.

Hi I posted earlier with the "motor oil consistency" comment. Just wanted to say that I made this twice in the last week or so, and it turned out to PERFECT fluffy mayo thickness! It definitely helps to start out slower like you said, and if anyone else's is breaking, it helps to drip the oil on the side of the mixture and whisk in the middle, bringing the oil in inch by inch. And no matter how much your arm and hand hurt, keep going! it's rewarding in the end, trust me garlic lovers.

To add to my previous comment, it seems a good amount of the raw garlic flavor gets lost in translation when the juices squeeze out onto the cutting board, before transferring the crushed clove to the mixing bowl. Would it be alright to use the "pestle" from a mortar and pestle to crush the garlic inside stainless steel bowl, or would i get miniscule fragments of ceramic and steel in the aioli?

I can't think of a better condiment to serve alongside an artichoke. This is what I had tonight and oh dear god it was good. Sure, it takes a little more effort than just melting some butter to dip the leaves in, but it is worth it!

Just made a batch of this, chef! I used a mortar and pestle (we had one lying around), and switched to a whisk for the... Whisking. Followed the recipe, I must report that my aioli also had the bitterness. It was more like garlic-bitter-lemon and EVOO goodness. Is there such a thing as overwhisking the sauce to bruise the oil to make it bitter?

I made this aioli today and this is the first time I've attempted a mayo that didn't break! :-) I've tried multiple times and it's never pretty (not to mention a waste of good olive oil). Just wanted to say thanks for the recipe and the video. Never shall I attempt mayo with a blender again. This is way easier.

Hello Chef John! I just found your blog, and tried this recipe today...wow!!!! I added this aioli to a sandwich, and after seeing how easy this was to prepare with a bowl and a balloon whisk, I will never buy store bought mayo or spreads again!

Cooking is one of my passions, and I look forward to trying a number of the recipes that you have on this blog. God Bless!!

My garlic was a bit bitter, so I added a touch of honey and it was perfect! I've used it on pork chops, instead of egg to bread chicken (which was amazing!), and as a spread for pretty much everything! Absolutely delicious!

To our Spanish brethren: I believe you that alioli is what the sauce is properly called in Spanish, but on English menus what you see is aioli, time and again.

Chef John is my hero, and I really enjoyed making this, as I have almost all his recipes (try his lasagna, crab stuffed corn muffins, chicken thai noodle salad, his coat-tails on those have all made me a hero at home).

The technique on this went fine, but it's got a deeply bitter taste. Guess my EVOO is too cheap (I bought Spanish, but I live in Beijing, so don't have the same range of choice imported foodstuffs as I did when I lived in the Bay Area).

I may try Jinx's advice and add a touch of honey, as i ploughed ahead and made a double batch here, and it seem a shame to waste it.

With my 120% trust in Chef John, I follwed exactly the recipe. However, the flavor of the lemon overpowers in my alioli. I would suggest trying with half of lemon juice, if you're not a big fan of lemon flavor or if your lemon seems to be quite acid, and add the other half later if it seems necessary.